The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 131

Working as a team, Steve and Sam managed to get me cocooned in the soft blanket and situated on a pair of chairs. Steve had even taken off his leather jacket and allowed me to use it as a pillow and hood. He'd also dimmed the lights as much as possible and Sam had retrieved a pitcher of ice water. Then, Steve sat beside me, with an arm around my shoulder watching the screen displaying Bucky's cell like a hawk. He quietly explained that they were waiting for a psychiatrist to come evaluate him. Sam had left us alone some time ago. There was a trash can sitting on one side of my chairs. The doctor had brought me some saltine crackers not too long ago. They hadn't even been in my stomach for five minutes before I regurgitated them. Steve was a wonderful companion, but more than anything I wanted contact with Loki. The device was inhibiting our Bond, and I was half-waiting for him to burst through the door making a scene.

"Hey, wanna see something cool?" Stark strolled in uninvited, waving a little black box, "I pulled something from dad's archive. Felt timely." Steve gave my shoulder a squeeze and moved to sit with Stark at the conference table.

"FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941." He opened the box to reveal a pair of fountain pens, "Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most. How're you doing, Arista?"

"Take this thing out of my neck and I'll show you."

"So not too bad, then." I wanted to hurl the trash can at him, but settled for rearranging the jacket so it covered my face and ears.

"Some would say that bill brought out country closer to war."

"See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to...what do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?" His voice was slightly muffled by the leather.

"Is Pepper here? I didn't see her."

"We're...kinda–well, not kinda–"

"Pregnant?"

"No," He scoffed, "Definitely not, we're taking a break. It's nobody's fault."

"I'm so sorry, Tony. I didn't know."

"A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then we had to mop up HYDRA, and then: Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then, I didn't stop. Because the truth is I don't wanna stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference. In her defence, I'm a handful." The chair creaked as he rose, "Yet, dad was always a pain in the ass, yet he and mom always made it work."

"If by 'handful', you mean 'playboy', then that's the first thing you've said right today." I muttered.

"I'm glad Howard got married. I only knew him when he was young and single."

"Oh, really? You two knew each other? He never mentioned that, maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you."

"I didn't mean to make things difficult."

"I know, because you're a very polite person."

"If I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."

"No, you don't." The second thing he'd said right today.

"No, I don't. Sometimes–"

"Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't want to see you gone. We need you, Cap. We need both of you, and Arista, you at your full strength. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych center instead of a Wakandan prison."